Obverse: Portrait of the King Wearing a Diadem
Facing Right
Reverse: Apollo Nude Seated on Omphalos,
Holding Arrow
The Seleukid Kingdom was established by
Seleukos I, one of the generals of Alexander the
Great, following the death of Alexander and the
division of his empire. At its peak under
Seleukos I and Antiochus I, the Seleucid Kingdom
comprised almost the whole of the conquests of
Alexander with the exception of Egypt.
Antiochus III, known as “the Great,” was the
younger son of Seleukos II and brother of
Seleukos III. A soldier of great ability, he
successfully campaigned between 212 and 205
B.C. to restore Alexander’s empire in Judea from
the clutches of Ptolemy V as well as the
kingdoms of Parthia and Bactria. Later he was
defeated by the Romans following their victory
over Phillip V of Macedon in 197.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether currency in
the age we live or an artifact of a long forgotten
empire. This ancient coin is more than an
artifact; it is a memorial to a lost kingdom
passed from the hands of civilization to
civilization, from generation to generation.
- (C.0136b)